Hotel Belvedere Salou Spain Review

 

If you have children who love theme parks then a trip to Portaventura World in Salou, Spain is a great place to visit. My children certainly enjoy a theme park visit so we booked a long weekend to Salou in Spain with Jet2 as a package staying at the Ohotels Hotel Belvedere. 

We had never been to Salou before and had no idea what to expect, we visited over the October half term holidays and we flew from Newcastle. I visited with my three children aged twenty two, eleven and ten at the time we visited - my husband was at work so stayed home to look after the dogs. We paid around one thousand two hundred pounds for the trip for two adults and two children, this included flights with reserved seating and bags, transfers and hotel and park tickets. We were staying at the Hotel Belvedere for three nights on a half-board basis - breakfast and evening meal. 

Arrival 

We had a early morning flight into Reus airport and the transfer from the airport was only around half an hour, so we arrived at the hotel around lunch time. The reception area was busy on arrival so we had a short wait to check in. As we had arrived on a early flight the room was not ready until 3pm, they do have a luggage room downstairs near the gym where you can store suitcases. 

We left our suitcases and headed into Salou for some lunch and to explore as it is only around a ten minute flat walk from the hotel to the beach front area where all the bars and shops are. 

At 3pm we could check in and were giving wristbands to wear and had to pay a small resort fee. Reception staff were friendly and explained everything to us. As we visited in October the whole hotel was decorated for Halloween which the children liked. 

The Room 

We were in room one four two six on the fourth floor. There is stairs and lifts up to the floors, we got the lift and it was tiny and bit grubby if I am honest - not a great start. We had an end room and for four people it was tiny, we managed fine as we were only there for a weekend. 

You enter the room and directly in front was a small bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet it was clean but basic and towels are provided along with some toiletries - soap, shower gel etc. The bathroom door was a sliding door and it did not shut fully so there was big gaps on the end so did not offer much privacy at all and was something we really did not like. 

There was a very small single wardrobe in the room with a small safe and fridge in the bottom. Coat hangers were provided but it was so small I don't know what you would do with your clothes if you were staying for a week as a family. 

There was two double beds in the room but the room is that small that the beds are touching, and there was a small bedside table on each side of the beds with sockets and lamps on the walls. There was a TV on the wall and a little  narrow dressing table and chair but no mirror. 

There was a patio door leading out on to a small balcony which had a plastic table and two plastic chairs on and a drying rail for swimwear. We had a pool view room but some of the rooms do look out onto the road. 

The room was clean and we seen the maids cleaning every day, it was just very small and there was no where to store suitcases. Parts of the hotel just seemed a bit grubby and run down in places too. 

The Hotel 

The hotel is a good size and has a big reception area with a few reception staff on duty, there is tour rep desks and lots of seating in the reception area. They have a small on site shop, selling gifts that was well priced and the children enjoyed visiting daily. There was a arcade area with a few different games. They also have a car hire kiosk if you want to hire a car during your stay. 

As we visited in October the entertainment was all indoors in the bar area on a evening. They had football on a big screen in the bar area during the day. They had pool tables, air hockey and table tennis to play. There was a gym in the basement and a small indoor pool that you had to book and wear swim hats to visit, we didn't use either so I can't comment on them. 

The pool area had a couple of slides that the children enjoyed, there was always a life guard on duty. They had a small splash park area for younger children next to the pool. The pool area had sunbeds around, we visited in October so there was loads of sunbeds but I imagine it is hard to get one in summer as the pool area is not that big for the size of the hotel. Pool floats are not allowed in the pool. 

There was a outdoor stage that I think they use in the summer for entertainment and also a outdoor bar selling drinks and pool snacks. They have a clubhouse for daytime kids club - again we did not use this so I am not sure what it was like. 

Evening entertainment was good they had mini discos and the entertainment team really try and get the children involved and make a effort with them. There was outside acts on when we visited we seen a magic show that was really good. The bar prices were not too expensive either. 

Food 

We stayed half-board so we had breakfast and evening meal included in our stay. The restaurant area is fairly big and we always got seated easily, the staff are constantly cleaning tables. 

Hotel Belvedere is a three star hotel so I knew the food would not be amazing but we really struggled with the food here. Breakfast was fine as they had pastries, croissants, yogurts etc. They also had someone making fresh omelettes and someone making pancakes. There is no toaster machines but sometimes they would make toasts on the grill for you and there was breads available. 

The hot buffet options contained chips, hot dog sausages, vegetables, streaky bacon, scrambled eggs and beans. They had a few coffee machines dotted around and fruit juice machines that you could have with breakfast. 

On a evening you had to order drinks and pay for them when you exited the restaurant. They had salad, soup, pasta with sauce and chips on offer on a evening with a lot of meat stew and frozen vegetable type dishes. They had pizza but it always had queues and went straight away as it was the only thing a lot of the children would eat. They were cooking paella one evening which my ten year son enjoyed. 

The food was not really to our taste, I am not a buffet fan really and the food was never actually hot a lot of things were lukewarm or cold. They had little cakes and ice cream available for dessert. 

The dining rooms were really busy and loud, we ended up going to a takeaway down the road and eating out as we did not enjoy the evening meals at the Hotel Belvedere. 

Location 

The location of the Hotel Belvedere is good, it is about half an hour from the airport and the transfer coach stops right outside the hotel. It is about a fifteen minute walk to the theme parks and water park in one direction and ten minutes in the opposite direction to the beach and bars. There is a few little shops and takeaways just a few minutes walk from the hotel. 

It is also just a few minute walk to the tourist information centre where the little land train stops. We went on the land train and really enjoyed it as it is a little tour around Salou and is good for seeing what is the area and where things are. 

It is a good base for Portaventura if your are going to the theme parks like we did as you can walk there and back easily. You can see the theme park from the hotel and it is well worth a visit we really enjoyed it. 

What We Thought

Hotel Belvedere is a three star Spanish hotel so we knew it would not be luxury however when you compare it to somewhere like Pirates Village in Majorca which is also three star I don't think Hotel Belevedere is as good. 

The location of the Hotel Belvedere is good with the short transfer time and it being central to a lot of things in Salou. The staff we encountered were all friendly and the entertainment was really good on a evening.

 However the hotel just was not for us. Parts of the hotel were lovely but parts of it were run down - the lifts were awful and some areas could just do with a bit of a refurb to make it nice again. The rooms are tiny and the bathroom door gives you no privacy at all which we didn't like. 

The food really wasn't great either the breakfast was fine if your like us and your happy with pastries, fruit, pancakes etc. If you are more of a cooked breakfast type of person you might not be very impressed. The evening food just was not for us, we didn't like a lot of the food on offer which is just personal taste. 

Would I stay at the Hotel Belvedere again? Honestly no. My husband and son have recently just been back to Salou for the weekend but this time they stayed in one of the Portaventura hotels and it was a similar price and they enjoyed it a lot more. 

Please note this is just my opinion and I am sure there are people who really like this hotel and the food it just wasn't for us. 

I have a YouTube video of the hotel and food which you can watch over on my YouTube channel or down below.